Well pump questions


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Old 09-05-17, 04:33 AM
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Well pump questions

Hello, and thanks in advance for any input on this. I am on a small island and relying on only rainwater for year round supply. I have a concrete cistern that has had minor issues ever since it was built, with a 1/2HP well pump, that has been pumping water up to a 600gallon attic tank which is then fed to the house via a small jet pump and pressure tank. I recently drained the cistern again to affect some repairs and found the well pump had never been wired correctly. When I drained the cistern down the pump burned up when it was only half submerged. I installed a spare pump I had and wired it into the control box to run properly on 220v but now I see the flaw in using a well pump for this purpose. Would it be possible to install the pump horizontally in the bottom of the cistern, so it is always fully submerged as long as there's water in the cistern?
Second question, is it possible to now wire the float switch into the control box somehow? I have been turning the pump on and off manually so far at the breaker. Thanks for reading.
 
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Old 09-05-17, 05:08 AM
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There are many pumps from which you can choose. My choice would be an external pump located below the cistern so it does not need priming. You can also use a submersible pump in the cistern. With whichever you choose a float switch can be added to turn the pump on and off depending on the water level in your attic tank.
 
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Old 09-05-17, 06:13 AM
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Hi Dane, thanks for the response. My cistern is built from 4 feet below grade and about 7 feet deep, when full, so an external pump isn't a good option. Is it possible to run the well pump placed horizontally though? I mean it works well for it's purpose, it just needs at least 18" to be half submerged. Pumping up 2-1/2 levels, so a submersible isn't great either, unless there are more powerful ones at 220v that I've never seen? Cheers, Dave.
 
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Old 09-05-17, 12:54 PM
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Is it possible to run the well pump placed horizontally though?
What kind of pump ?
A submersible well pump is not supposed to be run anything but vertical.
 
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Old 09-05-17, 07:06 PM
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Yes Sir, that's what it is and that answers my question. So, what is the best type of pump for this application? I need to get water from my cistern, which is about 7' deep, when full up about 35 feet into a storage tank in my attic, preferably controlled by a float switch in the attic tank.
Thanks again for any help. Dave.
 

Last edited by PJmax; 09-06-17 at 02:24 PM. Reason: corrected 25 to 35 feet
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Old 09-05-17, 07:39 PM
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Any type of submersible pump will work. I was originally thinking of a non automatic pump. That means a float in the upper tank would tell the pump when to run. This is a good idea but what happens when the cistern is empty ? The pump would fry.

I would recommend a sump pump type pump with a float on it. As long as the cistern was full.... the pump would operate. This would be in turn powered from a float in the upper tank.

Just some examples. Watch the head figure. You need 25' lift. You want a tethered float switch.

Everbilt 1/2 HP Submersible Sump Pump with Tether- The Home Depot

jet/product/detail/submersible pump
 
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Old 09-06-17, 01:39 PM
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Thank you PJ. OK, I need to correct something I said earlier as I know these pumps will not work for me. First, I hit a 2 instead of 3 which is to say 35' from the top of my cistern to the head of the tank. This is all plumbed in the walls in 1" pipe and when you add the height of the cistern (empty depth), more like a 43-45' head or rise. I used a regular submersible pump like these during construction and was only ever able to get it to pump to a 55gall. barrel up on the 2nd floor. So, is there any other solution for me? Sorry for the mistake and thanks for the help.
Dave.
 
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Old 09-06-17, 02:25 PM
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Ok... I changed the 25' to 35' in your post.
Let me see what's available for you.
 
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Old 09-07-17, 09:23 PM
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Great, thanks Pete. I grew up not needing to know anything about pumping water and now rely on rain for my whole year, so it's much appreciated.
Dave.
 
 

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